The invention relates in general to anchors for personal fall arrest equipment and in particular to an anchor for persons working on vertical surfaces.
Personal fall arrest equipment is used by those working at heights wherein a fall would most likely cause injury or death. Typically, the fall arrest equipment must be anchored in some manner. Various types of anchors are known. Exemplary anchors are disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0014370; U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,399; U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,452; U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,389; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,944. However, the anchors disclosed in the above documents are not suitable for persons working on vertical baffles.
FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a vertical baffle 10 that is located, for example, inside the tank of a ship. The baffle 10 includes openings 12 formed therein. The purpose of the baffle is to help prevent ship instability by slowing the movement of liquid in the tank, while still allowing liquid movement through the openings 12. The openings 12 also function as hand-grab/foot-rest holes for workers. Periodically, the baffle 10 requires maintenance, such as cleaning, painting or welding.
A known method for securing personal fall arrest equipment to the baffle 10 is to wrap nylon sling material through two of the openings 12 and then secure the personal fall arrest equipment to the nylon sling. The nylon sling method requires two hands and exposes the worker to an extended time period working on the vertical baffle without fall protection. Additionally, the openings 12 do not have smooth edges and, therefore, abrade the nylon sling material.
The present invention is an anchor for personal fall arrest equipment that can be quickly and easily operated. The inventive anchor is not subject to abrasion from the rough edges of the openings 12. The invention can also be installed by one man using one hand.
The invention will be better understood, and further objects, features, and advantages thereof will become more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.